I’m not on an island either dude. I’m also not in need of being so aggressive about my opinions.
IME, by and large, very few NFL players and coaches will make any public statements about another player other than praise; even when there’s criticism given, it’s typically couched in terms like, “he knows, and I’m sure he’ll do better.” Or, they find something to praise, even when the player in question has obvious holes in their game.
When a player does criticize a player on another team, it’s often seen as a motivational thing for that player, and so, players are likely advised (by their coaches) to keep any negative critiques private. And, publicly criticizing one of your teammates is usually seen as something that can tear apart a locker room, so, again, players generally steer clear of doing that.
The players and coach you quoted may well, indeed, feel, in their hearts of hearts, that Fields is an awesome player. Or, they may be saying nice things, publicly, because that’s SOP in the NFL, and it’s rare for a player to publicly speak their mind about another player, if they have a negative opinion.
I don’t hear these kinds of comments about a lot of QBs. This idea that every QB receives equivalent praise is ludicrous. All I’m saying is that it’s ridiculous to act like everyone who expresses a different opinion about a player is lying. It isn’t just players and coaches either. It’s media commentators, sports radio hosts, ex quarterback commentators. All I’m saying is that the jury isn’t in yet that he’s a lost cause. In fact he’s getting better in front of our eyes. Why assume he will stop growing and improving all of a sudden? The team has won 3 of the last 4. If wins are a QB stat, that is improvement right there. Also I believe either 1 or 0 interceptions over those games? With the defense playing at a top 5 level, lets see how these last 4 games go.
I never said that “every QB receives equivalent praise,” and please don’t imply that I did. All I said is that I’ve followed football for decades, and it’s always been the case that you simply don’t often hear negative things said by one player about another player in the press – and, thus, judging what players actually think about another player by their public statements can be challenging.
Exceptions will be if a player is clearly a dirty player, or interviews with the relative few outspoken players who simply don’t give a f*** (e.g., Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman, etc.).
Well there’s… Oh never mind, Richard Sherman retired. 
As the OP and someone who’s firmly on the Fields fence right now, I’d like to moderate arbitrate this ongoing dispute.
@Airbeck is right that Fields is a good, often spectacular QB. He makes plays few others can make, and I think most of that praise from players and coaches is genuine. What’s more, he’s improved since the beginning of the season, and now that he has a decent OL and a true WR1, he finally seems to be settling into a groove.
But @Omniscient is also right, in that Fields’ fundamentals still hold him back. He still fails to anticipate receivers coming open, wildly overthrows others, holds the ball way too long, takes bad sacks, and fumbles a lot. No QB is perfect, but the fact that he still exhibits these shortcomings after nearly three years in the league suggests that this may simply be who he is. In other words, this may be as good as he gets.
If the Bears didn’t (almost certainly) have a top 2 pick next year, there’d be no debate – we’d roll with Fields. But if Caleb Williams or Drake Maye appear to have a better upside than Fields without his limitations, Poles has to be willing to make that call.
Thank you and I agree with your post. I am not a “stan”, I just see potential and growth that I’m not ready to just give up on yet. The one line I have a bit of an issue with is the one above. I don’t see any evidence that he has stopped improving. I’ve seen growth, and his numbers show that growth season over season. So yeah, it’s possible that he will never be any better than he is right now, but that just doesn’t seem likely to me because of how clearly he is improving in front of our eyes in a number of ways. But anyway, this is all opinion and amateur analysis, and all in good fun.
I’m looking forward to how these last 4 games go, and then Ryan Poles has a job to do in deciding the path forward.
Not a Chicago fan so I don’t have any bear in this hunt.
But it’s fun to see those deriding Justin Fields scrambling (sorry) to find negatives when he has a great game.
The best was the put-down about how his style of play is unlikely to still be effective when he’s in his 30s.
He’s 24 years old. 
I obviously haven’t read the comments you’re referring to, but if they’re referring to his propensity for injury, they kind of have a point.
Every fan’s dream is to have a QB who’s effective for a decade or more – a Brady, Brees or Rodgers. But QBs who make running a big part of their game tend to get hurt more often, and have shorter careers. Cam Newton was league MVP in 2015 and all but washed up by 2019 at age 30.
So even if you think Fields is the guy for now, and that he has a bright future, it’s legit to wonder how long that future will be. And I’d say the same thing about Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts.
Lamar Jackson is in his 6th season, a mere shell of his former self.
And let’s not even mention Russell Wilson, washed up by the time he was 30.
Russell Wilson was never a running QB. He was a scrambling QB who was an opportunist and was careful about avoiding contact. He would slide if anyone got near him. As a result, he didn’t miss a single game since becoming a starter for about a decade. And when he did miss time, it was a freak accident where he hit Aaron Donald’s arm with his throwing hand when trying to make a pass.
It’s when QBs try to play like RBs, that’s when they shorten their careers and get washed up at the same rate as RBs.
Haha, of course he’s still great. But he’s only 26, and he finished each of the last two seasons on IR. I sincerely hope he bucks the trend, but I’d wager that, unless he transforms into a more conventional-style QB, he won’t enjoy the longevity of a Brees or Rodgers.
Well, another 4th quarter meltdown Sunday. My guess is it makes Eberflus’ firing more likely, and a new coaching staff also makes it more likely that the team goes in a new direction at QB.
Fields’ play didn’t cost the Bears the win, and in fact Bears receivers dropped two TD passes that would have likely won it for them. Getsy gave him a shit game plan, too. But Fields also didn’t have the kind of game that would make him more likely to win the starter’s job next year. He made some great plays, and he made some bad ones, but ultimately got outplayed by a 38-year-old has-been who was riding the couch a month ago.
(And yes, if Mooney had hung onto that hail mary, we’d all be celebrating a miracle comeback. But he didn’t, and we’re not.)
The big factor that I’m starting to think will lead the Bears to move on is economics. Fields has one cheap year left on his rookie deal, but a rookie with four cheap years gives Poles a longer runway to build a championship roster.
The offense scored 10 points. Seven of those came on a whopping 9 play, 2-yard drive. We had eight (!) 3-and-outs. Tonyan and Mooney each dropped 50+ yard TD passes, but that in no way offsets what was a pretty dismal showing from the QB. One of those being a fluke Hail Mary also isn’t representative of an offense.
Some will point out that the Browns D at home is elite, but the version we played was completely depleted. It was missing something like 5 starters, most in the front seven. We also turned Flacco over 3 times. How can you look at Fields 196 yards of total offense and come away thinking he can be absolved of blame for the loss?
I guess we’re splitting hairs between “didn’t cost the Bears the win” and “absolved of blame for the loss.” Of course he shares some blame, but (unlike in other instances) didn’t commit a critical turnover or clearly blow a play that would have changed the outcome.
I think we’d agree that he didn’t take command of a game his team should have won. He didn’t make many plays. He made bad decisions, and looked confused at times. All too typical.
That 8-play (not 9), two-yard drive was a farce for the ages, by both teams. I still have a bruise on my forehead from all the facepalming.
I strongly disagree.
Point in case.
Missing this is equal to a crippling INT because it led to a punt instead of us flipping the field or even getting a TD. You can’t just look at picks, sacks and fumbles as game losing mistakes. The plays you don’t make, especially the routine ones, are every bit as bad. An INT is at least an aggressive mistake, this is just inept.
I can’t disagree. It’s time to move on.
How do you move on? What kind of value do you expect for Fields if you trade him? Assuming you draft your first choice of QB with Carolina’s pick, are you going to want a salty Fields on your roster or even maybe starting for a year before your future QB takes over?
I think Fields is basically Colin Kaepernick. You can find success with him as your QB if you’re willing to revamp your offense to fit his strengths. But forcing him to play pocket QB is useless to him and to your team.
Colin was very successful at one time, even making it to a Super Bowl, but he had a kick-ass team around him to support him.
My best guess would be a 3rd round pick.
Carolina gave the Jets three picks for Sam Darnold, who’s not as good as Fields, but a) Darnold still had two years on his rookie deal, vs. Fields’ one; and b) Carolina is run by dopes.
There’s no way the Bears keep Fields if they draft one of the top QBs.